How to Speed up a Video in iMovie on Mac

Speeding up a video clip can be an effective way to shorten its length and make it more concise. To speed up a video clip in iMovie, click on the Speed button from the editor toolbar and then select the Fast option from the speed settings. 

Hi, my name is Nancy and I’ve been using iMovie for several years to make quick and simple videos. In this article, I will share the best tips on how to effectively use the speed controls in iMovie on a Mac.

Let’s dive in.

How to Change the Speed of a Video Clip

To modify a video clip, start by selecting it in the timeline. Next, locate the Speed controls in the editor toolbar. Within this tool, you’ll see a dropdown menu that displays the various speed options you can choose from.

Speed up a Video Clip in iMovie

To increase the speed of a video clip, simply choose the Fast option, which offers four speed options ranging from 2x to 20x. Once you’ve chosen the desired speed, the clip in the timeline will be shortened and a rabbit icon will be displayed.

Slow Down a Video Clip in iMovie

If you want your video clip to have a slow-motion effect, you can choose the Slow option from the speed settings. The slowest speed available is 10%. The slowed-down clip will appear longer in the timeline with a turtle icon.

How to Reset the Speed of a Clip

You can always reset the speed of a clip at any time by going to the speed settings and clicking on the Normal speed option. 

Suppose you only want to speed up a specific portion of a video and not the entire clip. To achieve this, you must first select a range within the clip. 

Press and hold the R key, and then drag it across the desired part of the clip that you want to adjust. After that, go to the Speed settings and choose any of the available Fast speed options. 

The speed change will now be applied to the selected range. If you want to make the speed changes happen gradually, simply select the Smooth checkbox.

What is the iMovie Speed Editor?

Every time you alter the speed of a clip, a speed slider will appear at the top of the clip. You can move the slider left or right to manually adjust the speed of your clip.

This will automatically switch the speed to Custom, where you can view the percentage of the changes made to the clip.

You can also bring up the speed slider by right-clicking on a clip and choosing Show Speed Editor or by pressing Command + R.

How to Speed up Music in iMovie

To increase the speed of an audio track in your project, you can follow the same steps used for changing the speed of a video clip.

Important tip: When playing a clip with audio at a slower speed, the pitch of the audio will be lowered, while playing it at a faster speed will raise the pitch. To keep the original pitch of the audio, simply select the Preserve Pitch checkbox in the speed controls.

Final Thoughts

By using the speed controls in iMovie on a Mac, you can easily adjust the speed of your video clips to create a more unique viewing experience. Changing the speed of specific parts within a video clip can be a powerful tool for highlighting important moments and making them stand out.

We hope you found this article helpful. Let us know if you have any more questions about how to use the speed controls in iMovie in the comments section below.

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